President Trump's Retweets Top This Week's Internet News Roundup

First off, let’s start with a simple message that is particularly meaningful this week. And really, all weeks. Click here, then come right back. Now please take a moment to consider that Jimmy Kimmel is in a Twitter war with Alabama senate candidate Roy Moore, because that’s something that happens in the real world now. Happy holidays, everyone! Oh, and maybe you want to see what’s happening online, for some reason. That’s below. We promise there’s a relatively happy ending this time around.

Twitter Governance, Part 1

What Happened: Forget fiddling while Rome burns, it might be time to update the saying to “tweeting while America heads towards a federal shutdown because of a lack of funds.”

What Really Happened: At the start of the week, political voyeurs in Washington were already thinkingaboutthepossibilityofagovernmentshutdown, but were heartened by the fact that a deal to avert such a thing was already in the works, with President Trump set to sit down with the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate to hash out the details. Previously, it seemed to work out, but this time? Not so much. And it’s all because of Twitter.

Twitter Governance, Part 2

What Happened: Do you remember “Retweets do not equal endorsements”? It might be time for President Trump to look into that. Or at least choose his retweets a little more carefully.

What Really Happened: Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer weren’t the only people the president alienated via Twitter last week. He also shocked quite a few people when he retweetedthreetweets from far-right group Britain First. (Tweets linked above instead of embedded, in case they upset readers.)

Condemnationcamefromallquarters, itseemed. It was such a breach of both protocol and common sense that British Prime Minister Theresa May responded in an official statement, condemning what the president had done:

So, upsetting the country that has traditionally been one of the strongest allies of the US and tacitly endorsing an organization that shares anti-Muslim content? That didn’t go over well. But at least that was the extent of it, right? Oh, wait: there were also reportsthatBritainFirst’smembershipwasgrowing as a result of Trump’s patronage. So there’s that.

The Takeaway: For further evidence of how this was received, here’s a reminder that even Piers Morgan turned against Trump on this one.

Meanwhile in the Mueller Investigation…

What Happened: Christmas came early for everyone watching the Russia investigation, as Michael Flynn pled guilty to lying to the FBI.

What Really Happened: How best to mark the start of the holiday month? Special Counsel Robert Mueller opened it with a gift for those following his investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible contacts with Russia.

Did You Hear the One About the Cat and the Library?

What Happened: Just let the damn cat into the library, everyone.

What Really Happened: Sometimes it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Especially when there’s a cat who wants to get into the library and isn’t allowed.